Aaatuu 5 may july 2018

MAY-JULY 2018

ARTICLE

GHANA: LAND OF 26 MILLION MAGICIANS FASHION

COCOWEAR VINOW TWENA PHOTOGRAPHY

DROMO STUDIOS

HUMANS OF GHANA

“THE GHANA I WANT TO SHARE” TOURISM

EASTERN REGION

ANOTHER HIDDEN GEM

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HOW THE MOVIE BLACK PANTHER INSPIRES US ALL aaatuumagazine.com

Gone Viral

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#dromo_studios

AaaTuu

AMAZING

GHANAIANS See who we are featuring in this issue.

Yvette Pappoe

Kofi Amigosten Amoah

H

ello everyone, and welcome to The 5th Edition of Aaatuu Magazine!

“Aaatuu” means “a warm hug!” We couldn't be more excited to have made it to this point, and to also have you as a dedicated reader!

Welcome!!!

In this issue, we explore the Eastern Region of Ghana, which many believe has one of the friendliest and excessively polite people in the country – and maybe in the world! This area is famous for its large areas of lush tropical forests, cascading falls, and endangered birds and insects. It is also the home of one of the biggest trees in the West African sub-region.

Asafotufiami Festival

Also, we continue our “100 Amazing Ghanaians” series. As a part of this, we feature four extraordinary Ghanaians in this issue: Yvette Pappoe, Ato Ulzen-Appiah, Nana Ama McBrown, and the remarkable Kofi Amigosten Amoah.

Ato Ulzen-Appiah

The Fashion page features Cocoweargh, Vinow Fashion, and, of course, Twena's Fashion. “Dromo Studios” is our featured photographer.

Our other family (African Americans in the United States) has shown great interest in Aaatuu, so we have given them the opportunity ask questions about Africa, and lots more.

Cocoa Production Eastern Region

This edition is packed for your reading and visual pleasure.

Enjoy!

Warmest regards.

Nana Ama McBrown

Francis Adams Editor

Ghana’s Favourite: Fried Plantain & Beans A A A T U U M A G A Z I N E . C O M / M A Y- J U LY 2 0 1 8

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11 Spotlight Eastern Region Another “Hidden Treasure” of Ghana’s Tourism

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ARTICLE

15 Thursday Bead Market, Koforidua 18 Event Winners at 2018 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 20 History Dr. Ephraim Amu The Distinguished Ghanaian Musicologist and Teacher

22 Photography Humans of Ghana

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PRESEC

24 Article The Ghana I want to Share 27 100 Amazing Ghanaians 28 Yvette Pappoe 29 Nana Ama MacBrown 30 Kofi Amigosten Amoah 33 Ato Ulzen-Appiah

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TOURISM

34 Article How The Movie Black Panther Inspires Us All 37 Talking Drums Ghanaians making the news around the world

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ENTERTAINMENT

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38 Article 2nd Generation British-Ghanaians willing to relocate home 39 Health 6 Things You Can Do To Greatly Improve Your Health

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MOVIE

PHOTOGRAPHY

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ENTERTAINMENT

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41 Food Ghana’s Most Loved meal “Red Red”

TOURISM

44 Article The Empty-nesters' Manual 46 Article Ghana Land of 26 Million Magicians 55 Movie Review AMINA. A Girl. Warrior.

Legend.

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MOVIE

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FASHION

62 Gone Viral Ghanaians making news around the world 63 Travelogue Ghana Beautiful Places

TOURISM

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58 People Amanda Agana

66 Entertainment News

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74 Our Culture The Ada Asafotufiami Festival

PEOPLE

78 PRESEC: One of our kind Dr. Solomon Dadebo (1980)

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PHOTOGRAPHY

EVENT

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITOR ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT EDITOR GH FASHION EDITOR DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER

Francis Adams Nimi Manyo Plange Ato Degraft Johnson Marvin Adams Ekuwa Dadson Dharmendra Thanki

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WEB & SYSTEMS CONSULTANT

Kobla Fiagbedzi

REGUL AR CONTRIBUTORS / PHOTOGR APHERS Dr. T. R. Cauthen PhD: Baltimore-USA, Gladys Adinyira Wuaku:Accra-Ghana, Dr. Morkor Newman Harare: Zimbabwe, Parrian Parry:Baltimore Maryland, Nana Sarpong:Maryland-USA, Ben Owusu Firempong:Nairobi-Kenya, Victor and Emmanuel Opoku: Virginia USA, Emmanuel Kweenu Haizel- New York Evelyn Akuetteh, Accra-Ghana, Clear Shot Studios, Isaac Quist-Australia,Yaw Pare-Accra Ghana, ARTEFFECTS-Ho, Ghana, Kwaku Sikahene Ampomah-UK

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Francis Adams Richard Bluwey

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Eastern Region

©shutterstock.com

©shutterstock.com

©shutterstock.com

©shutterstock.com

Another “Hidden Treasure” of Ghana’s Tourism

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Cocoa farmer proudly shows the fruits of her labour. Photo: pixabay.com

Eastern Region Another “Hidden Treasure” of Ghana's Tourism VOLTA REGIONAL MANAGER GHANA TOURISM AUTHORITY

The Eastern Region of Ghana is the third largest region in the country. As mentioned above, it is believed to be home to the friendliest and most polite people in the country. It has a rich blend of dramatic landscapes, historic relics, and traditional cultures.

It is one of ten administrative regions, and is bordered to the east by Lake Volta, to the north by the BrongAhafo Region and the Ashanti Region, to the west by the Ashanti Region, and to the south by the Central Region and the Greater Accra Region.

which became amalgamated with “ Ko fi O f o r i ' s t re e ” to p ro d u ce “Koforidua.”

Huge Volta Lake dominates the Eastern Region, and is sandwiched amongst the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Greater Accra, and Volta Regions. Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, built two monuments here to celebrate Ghana's new independence – namely, the Akosombo Dam (the largest supplier of electricity in the country), and the Senchi Bridge.

The capital, Koforidua, is one of the country's oldest cocoa producing centers. Koforidua owes its name to an Akan man, Kofi Ofori, who built his hut under a huge mahogany tree, which provided shelter for weary farmers and hunters after a hard day's work. Over time, it became common for farmers to say that they were going to rest under Kofi Ofori's tree. In Akan, the translation for tree is “dua,”

The Akosombo Dam spans the gorge of Volta River in the region near the town of Akosombo. The famous Senchi Bridge at Atimpoku links the rest of the country to the Volta Region in the middle. The Akwapim Ridge, the Krobo Mountains, the Kwahu scarp, and the rolling hills overlook striking landscapes of gently flowing rivers and untouched forests and fauna.

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TOURIST ATTRACTIONS ©shutterstock.com

KWAME GYASI

Aburi Botanic Gardens is one of the most beautiful, peaceful, and fascinating places in the Eastern Region. The gardens provide both an educational and an esthetic experience; an example of an educational aspect is the research that occurs here. The gardens feature not only beautiful palm tree-lined lanes, but also a wide variety of traditional and medicinal plants – including a silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentrandra) that is the sole survivor of the original forest that once covered the Aburi hills.

The Eastern Region – famous for its large, lush tropical forests, cascading falls and endangered birds and insects – is home to the biggest tree in the West African sub-region.

Tini Waterfalls

Adasawasi Tini Waterfall is located in a lush evergreen forest about 6km from Adasawase, a small farming community that is about 6km from Anyinam – off the Accra-Kumasi highway in the Atiwa District of the Eastern Region. This attraction consists of spectacular waterfalls that cascade over a giant rock formation and an ancient cave.

Bunso Arboretum

The Bunso Aboretum is home to different species of trees, butterflies and birds. This makes it lovely for visitors to have nature’s walk. Mobile swimming pool and bouncy castle are also available in the park during holidays and special programmes.

Bruku Shrine

The biggest tree in West Africa The most striking feature of this tree is how much bigger it is than anything around it. Located in West Africa about 20km from Akim Oda, and near Akyem Aprokumase on Agona Swedru Road, its trunk is very straight and branchless for the first few meters, and reaches the top of its crown far above the canopy at a whopping 66 meters! Three meters up its trunk, its diameter is 2.7 meters!

The local name for the type of tree is “Bako,” which means “endangered.” It is believed to be about 400 years old, and is the object of many superstitions.

Such superstitions are not surprising in deeply religious Ghana, where traditional beliefs mix seamlessly with both Christian and Islam faiths.

Stories abound about people who have tried to destroy the tree by cutting or burning it, inevitably resulting in the death of the perpetrators. Other stories relate to special powers of the tree, including the special power of a hole in one side of the tree. One local legend is that it is possible to extract something from the hole (a guide calls it “honey”), which, when eaten by a woman, results in her becoming pregnant just from that consumption. [Courtesy Ollyghana.]

The Bruku Shrine, which is located in Kwahu Tafo, is a revered deity among the people of Kwahu. Generations ago, worshippers made regular pilgrimages to the shrine to pay homage.

Horse Monument, which is located on top of a mountain, is a natural formation that was created as a result of compression pressure on faults in bedrocks. Cocoa Research Institute of G h a n a , e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 3 8 a t Ta f o , investigates problems created by diseases and pests that attack not only cocoa, but also other crops, such as coffee and sheanut.

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Accommodations The Eastern Region boasts many good accommodation units in the major towns – ranging from luxury hotels and resorts, to economy-class hotels. Many feature restaurants that serve both continental and local cuisines. In addition, many offer catering services.

The Wonder Rocks Of Akateng Unbelievable Rock Formations

Highway Rest Stops The Eastern Region is the only region with formal Highway Rest Stops along the major road that links the Southern part of the country to the Northern part (i.e., from Accra to Kumasi). Two strategically located Highway Rest Stops are at Bonsu Junction and Nsutam.

Festivals The following are some major festivals and event attractions that are celebrated across the Eastern Region:

The Stone Bridge

Festival Venue & Date 1. Ohum Kan/Ohum Kyire Kyebi in July through September 2. Dipo Festival in Manya/Yilo in April 3. Ohum Abirew in July and August 4. Odwira Akropong in September and October 4. Akwantukese in New Juaben in November 6. Ngmayem in Krobo Odumase in October 7. Hang Paragliding during the Easter Festival in Kwahu-Atibie in March and April Night Life Night life in the Eastern Region is awesome – with numerous night clubs situated in most upscale hotels, as well as open air restaurants and pubs that serve their food and beverages amidst live bands and spinning groups till daybreak. Such live bands and music are enjoyable at affordable rates.

The Stone Ship (Titanic)

Shopping Centers The Eastern Region abounds in a wide variety of shopping centers in the Central Business District of the respective districts.

Odweanoma Mountain-Atibie Kwahu This is the site for the annual Easter Kwahu paragliding festival. Facilities at the site include the paragliding launch pad, a reception, a viewing platform, and a substantial parking lot for cars.

The Crocodile This site is located at Akateng in the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly, about 10 km from the district capital, Asesewa. An amazing aspect of the Akateng wonder rocks is that the site spans an immense 324 acres that is filled with rock formations of varied sizes and shapes. This site, though in a very raw state, has unlimited potential for rock climbing, archaeological research, and other social activities.

One area of the rock formation provides a natural amphitheater for such activities as the enactment of ancient cultural traditions of the local inhabitants, storytelling, and festival durbars.

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Thursday Bead Market, Koforidua

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veryone should experience the beautiful and fun bead market in Koforidua! Lines and lines of people form to view and purchase necklaces, bracelets, and beads – following traditions that date back to ancient times. The market, located at Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, is only an hour's drive from Accra.

Since the bead traders convene only on Thursdays, make sure to plan ahead so that you can take in as much of the event as possible, which means that you are likely to return home not only with boat loads of beautiful beads, but also with a huge smile on your face!

The view is always an artistic masterpiece! The huge variety of beads ranges from Ashanti/Krobo beads, to translucent glass beads, to vinyl and even plastic beads, to huge

beads (as big as your thumb), to tiny shiny beads. And the market glistens with piles of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, ankle bracelets, and other jewelry lying on tables and hanging on walls.

Several stalls sell strings of beads in bulk, and a few stalls even sell old West African coins from the colonial era, as well as other African goods, such as musical instruments and wallets with African prints, etc.

The vendors – mostly older men and women (fifties and above), wear kufi caps, and hijabs, since many are from Muslim communities. Them busily string bracelets and necklaces, but always will stop to boast that their beads are the best in the whole market.

How the beads are made: The bead

makers crush broken glass from recycled bottles and other glass items into a fine glass powder. The base colors of the beads are formed from colored glass or ceramic dyes used to color the glass powder. The powder is then poured into molds that provide their shape and cooked in traditional kilns. After the beads cool down, the bead makers paint each bead with colorful patterns.

Unlike other markets, where you're likely to find a bit of everything, the Koforidua Beads Market sells beads and beads only. The production and sale of beads is a huge part of the Ghanaian culture. Although beads may not be always worn to represent specific tribes or chieftaincies anymore, the bead trade clearly lives on!

Sergey Dereliev Nature Photography

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winners at 2018 vodafone ghana music awards There were lots of cheers and tears at this year’s Ghana Music Awards held at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra. The annual Awards recognises the work of musicians and producers who have excelled during the year under review of the awards January 1 to December 31, 2017.

Below is the full list of winners:

Hip Pop Song of the Year ‘Grind Day (Remix)' by Kwesi Arthur

Best Collaboration of the Year Shatta Wale & SM Militants (Taking Over)

Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year ‘My Own’ by Samini

Rapper of the Year Sarkodie

Hiplife Song of the Year ‘Total Cheat’ by Fancy Gadam ft Sarkodie

Best Group of the Year Wutah

Afro Pop Song of the Year ‘Sponsor’ by Ebony

Best Music Video of the Year ‘Obi Agyi Obi Girl’ by Gyo of Phamous Philms

Highlife Song of the Year ‘Odo’ by Kidi Gospel Artiste of the Year Joe Mettle Highlife Artiste of the Year Kuami Eugene Hiplife/Hiphop Artiste of the Year Sarkodie Artiste of the Year Ebony

Songwriter of the Year Bullet for ‘Maame Hw3’

Gospel Song of the Year ‘Bo Noo Ni' by Joe Mettle

Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year Stonebwoy

Best Male Vocalist of the Year Joe Mettle Best Female Vocalist of the Year Adina African Artiste of the Year Davido Record of the Year ‘State of the Art’ by Teephlow Best New Artiste of the Year Kuami Eugene Song of the Year ‘Total Cheat’ by Fancy Gadam ft Sarkodie Album of the Year Bonyfied (Ebony) Traditional Artiste of the Year Amamerefo Music and Dance Ensemble Instrumental Artiste of the Year Dominic Quashie Lifetime Achievement Award Mary Naa Amanua Doodo of Wulomei

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H I S T O R Y

Dr. Ephraim Amu The Distinguished Ghanaian Musicologist and Teacher

D

r Amu was born on 13 September 1899 at Peki-Avetile (also called Abenase) in the Peki traditional area of the Volta Region. As a male child born on a Wednesday, he was called “Kwaku.”

Amu first attended school in May 1906. At about age 12, he entered the Peki-Blengo E.P. Boarding Middle School, where he showed much interest and love for music and agriculture. According to him, he enjoyed the music played during church collections when the music teacher, Mr. Karl Theodore Ntem, played soul-moving renditions on the organ.

Amu and his music teacher struck a mutual agreement (bartering, if you will) whereby Amu would be taught the skills of organ playing, and, in return, Mr. Ntem would employ Amu to work on his farm on Saturdays.

Amu composed a number of musical pieces, among them: "Fare thee well” "Nkwagye Dwom” "Dwonto” "Yetu Osa” "Israel Hene” "Onipa da wo ho so” "Yaanom Abibirimma” "Yen Ara Asase Ni” "Adawura abo me” "Samansuo” "Ale-gbegbe”

Amu is particularly known for his use of the atenteben, a traditional Ghanaian bamboo flute; he promoted and popularized the instrument throughout the country, and composed music for it.

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Of Amu's compositions, "Yen Ara Asase Ni" has become a nationally acclaimed patriotic song that is performed at national functions.

In 1931, after Amu preached (wearing his African attire on a Sunday), he was summoned to appear before the church court.

The Rev. Peter Hall told Amu, "We were taken aback to see you conduct Sunday service in a native cloth. We hope you will not do this again." Therefore, in his polite manner, Amu took leave of the church session, but decided in his heart to continue to work in the church as a catechist and music teacher – rather than become a minister of the Gospel wearing unsuitable European dress. In June 1942, Amu married Beatrice Yao and presented her with a wooden box made of the finest wood instead of the

traditional imported steel trunk.

Dr Amu married at the ripe age of 43 on 3 September 1942.

On Saturday, 27 March 1965, the University of Ghana conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Music on Ephraim Amu at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Some Works by Ephraim Amu: Twenty-five African Songs in the Twi Language. Music and words by E. Amu. Sheldon Press, 1932.

Amu, Ephraim. Amu choral works. Waterville Publishing House, 1993.

Amu, Ephraim. How to Study African Rhythm. The Teachers' Journal (Accra) 6.2 (1933): 1933-34.

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HUMANS OF

GHANA

A beautiful and inspiring collection of photographs capturing the spirit of the people of Ghana.

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The Ghana I want to Share!

Brenda Owusu Firempong is a United States based medical student, and writes about what makes her Ghana a cool country to visit.

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hana, like every African country has rich, traditional culture that differs with every ethnic group. There are about 52 different dialects spoken by the Ghanaian people with Akan, Ga, Ewe, Hausa and Ga-Adangbe being the most common of them.

Ghana has numerous interesting attractions that everyone has to see when they visit, such as the Kakum National Park, the Cape coast and Elmina castles, Mole national park, the Bonwire kente weaving village, the Palace of the Asantehene, Paga crocodile park; my personal favourites the Chalewote Festival, Nzulezu village, and the Kwahu paragliding park just to mention a few.

Ghana is also a very rich in natural resources. We export products such as unrefined shea butter, African black soap, Bauxite, Gold, timber and cocoa. As much as I love everything about Ghana, the food and music are my two favourite things.

For most people in other countries, a typical breakfast would include some eggs - scrambled or fried, bacon, and a cup of coffee or simply some cereal. In Ghana this is not the case.

Breakfast in Ghana is just a tad heavier than your usual continental breakfast. It includes waakye (rice

cooked with beans, some salad, gari, eggs, meat, fried fish, shitorhot pepper sauce, and some stew); kenkey with fried fish, shitor and ground red pepper; some people prefer something lighter such as hausa koko (spicy cornmeal porridge) with koose (fried spicy

A Ghanaian favourite. Rice and beef stew

bean fritters) and bofloat (fried sweet dough). Other popular Ghanaian foods include, our world famous jollof rice (yes it is better than Nigerian jollof), banku and okro soup, fufu with light soup, groundnut soup or palm nut soup with all types of assorted meats.

Even our snacks would count as full meals in other countries. kelewele (spicy fried ripe plantain) with groundnuts, khebab (spicy grilled meats), 'kofi brokeman' (roasted ripe plantain) with groundnuts and nkyerie (roasted corn and groundnuts), as you can tell, we do love our peanuts.

Much like everything in life, our music evolved from the traditional

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Brenda Owusu Firempong

drumming and singing to high life, and now we have hiplife, afropop, twi rap, dancehall and hip hop with artists like Sarkodie topping the charts and receiving BET awards.

Ghanaians are also known for their amazing dance skills, from the traditional Adowa dance of the Akans, and the Agbadza of the Ewes to the world famous Azonto and Alkayida dances.

I grew up in Ghana at a time where computers and cell phones did not exist. Children had fun outdoors.

We would play games like ampe, oware, ludo, football and maame and paapa. At night time, usually during days when we had a full moon (and no electricity), we would all sit outside and listen to the older people tell us stories.

Ghanaians believe in the extended family system rather than the nuclear family. The elderly are kept at home instead of nursing homes to pass on knowledge to the younger generation. We believe in sharing, especially food. No amount of food is too small.

We emphasize the importance of family, respect for the elderly, and having good morals. Greeting the elderly, saying “please” and “thank you” are part of every Ghanaians upbringing. We take life at a relaxed pace and see time as a series of interesting events rather than as a measure of minutes and hours.

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100 AMAZING GHANAIANS Four special people who have accomplished so much in their fields

Yvette Pappoe

Ko Amigosten Amoah

Ato Ulzen-Appiah

Nana Ama Mc Brown

PROJECT 5

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ofi Amigosten Amoah is a selfless man who has devoted his life to helping the poor. His organisation “On The Road” is a registered Ghanaian charity working in the interest of less fortunate children, families, and communities throughout Ghana. Armed with his camera and on his motor bike, Kofi travels to remote parts of Ghana donating food and other items to the poor and needy.

Nana Ama McBrown is a Ghanaian actress and a music writer. She has appeared in several movies and she is by far one of the best actresses in the country. Her ability to enter into another character and engage with an audience is phenomenal.

Ato Ulzen-Appiah a social entrepreneur, consultant, social media influencer, blogger and director of the Ghana Think Foundation. His Foundation mobilizes and organizes talent for the primary benefit of Ghana.

Yvette Pappoe is the Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Douglas R. M. Nazarian at The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. She was selected by the National Jurist Magazine as a 2017 Law Student of the Year and won the Elizabeth Maxwell Carroll Chestnut Prize given to a member of the graduating class for good scholarship.

Aaatuu is proud of you all.

Congratulations!!!

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Yvette Naa Adoley Pappoe, Esq. 2017 Law Student of the Year Recipient of the Elizabeth Maxwell Carroll Chestnut Prize...

Y

vette was selected by the National Jurist Magazine as a 2017 Law Student of the Year and won the Elizabeth Maxwell Carroll Chestnut Prize, given to a member of the graduating class for good scholarship in a broad sense, as determined by the Dean of the School Law based on recommendations from members of the faculty.

Who's Yvette?

“I was born in Accra, Ghana and attended St. Martin De Porres before my family emigrated to the United States in 2001. I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Sociology magna cum laude from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and graduated magna cum laude with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

starting as in fall 2018 as an Associate at Miles & Stockbridge, P.C.” In 2016, Yvette published “Remedying the Effects of Government-Sanctioned Segregation in a Post-Freddie Gray Baltimore”. This article was published in the University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class. She has a forthcoming publication titled "The Shortcomings of Title VII for the Black Female Plaintiff” to be published in the fall 2018 Volume 22.2 of the University of Pennsylvania Law School Journal of Law and Social Change.

“I have a passion for education and youth development and mentoring”, says Yvette.

I am currently a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Douglas R. M. Nazarian on the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland and will be 28 A A A T U U M A G A Z I N E . C O M / M A Y- J U LY 2 0 1 8

Photo: pulse.com.gh

Nana Ama McBrown One of Ghana’s Finest Actresses

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ana Ama found mainstream success following her rousing performance in the Twi-language movie Asoreba. Asoreba is often cited as the movie that ushered Twi-language Ghanaian movies into the mainstream, a fact that is attributed to Nana Ama's performance in the film. Although often overshadowed by her English-speaking counterparts across West Africa, Nana Ama, in recent years has gathered a strong loyal following of her own among Ghanaians.

Nana Ama was born in Kumasi, Ghana. Her mother, Cecilia Agyenim Boateng, and her father Kwabena Nkrumah, divorced when she was very young. With her father gone and her mother unable to take care of her and her six other siblings, Nana Ama and her siblings were adopted by Kofi McBrown and her aunt, Madam Betty Obiri Yeboah. As a result, Nana Ama considers her childhood to have been difficult.

She grew up in Kwadaso, Kumasi with her aunt, and her adopted father. To this day, she considers her aunt her "real mother" and has spoken of her gratitude to her aunt for having provided her with a stable and caring home.

She says she stumbled into acting. She answered an auction call on the radio by Miracle Films and was hired to do costuming instead. However, on the set, she was able to snag the lead role after the director, Samuel Nyamekye, felt that she was better suited for the role.

In 2001, her first movie, That Day, was released launching her career. Her performance in That Day opened the floodgates to choicer roles, landing her a spot on the TV series Tentacles.

In 2007, the movie Asoreba, co-starring Agya Koo and Mercy Aseidu, turned Nana Ama into a household name. Since then, she has slowly built a strong following by releasing a slew of critically acclaimed movies.

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KOFI AMIGOSTEN AMOAH A selfless man who has devoted his life to helping the poor. by sdlg-africa.com

K

ofi Amigosten Amoah has been voted the SDLG, China’s leading manufacturer of construction equipment -Most Reliable Person in Africa, but who is he? What drives him? And what is ‘On the Road’ all about?

Kofi was born in Accra, Ghana in February 1969. His parents were originally from Mafi Kumase in the southern province of the Volta region (which lies to east of Lake Volta and to the west of the Republic of Togo) and Kofi is one of their five children. His early schooling was at the Datus Preparatory School at Bubiashie in Accra before moving to the Bishop Herman College High School in Kpando in the Volta Region where he took his A-Levels in 1988. Following his A-Levels he attended the School of Social Work after which he secured a place at the University of Ghana to study social work.

While studying he was appointed by the Department of Social Work as a Residential Social Worker at a Boys Remand Home, where juveniles were held until their cases were heard. “It was at this point I saw, first hand, the problems faced by people living on the streets,” says Kofi.

In 1990 the issue of street children was recognised as a social problem and Kofi was asked to work on street projects with a brief to research and evaluate the issues and recommend solutions by the Government of Ghana.

He conducted this work until 1996, often using video to support his findings.

“In 1996 I left the Department having decided that, independently, I could use my videos and the media to highlight the problems faced by street children to a wider audience,” he explains. “I also wanted to bring to everyone’s attention the consequences of inaction,” he adds. “I shot videos to show just how difficult it was to live on the streets and I guess this is when the seed was sown for my ‘On the Road Charity.”

As a result of his work, Kofi began to regularly find himself on radio and television shows sitting on panels or being 30 A A A T U U M A G A Z I N E . C O M / M A Y- J U LY 2 0 1 8

interviewed in order to share his experiences and expertise.

Realising the media would unquestionably be an important tool both to raise funds and to highlight the issues close to his heart, Kofi took a 12-month acting course in 2002. “With this under my belt I was able to secure some TV commercials and acting work to make some money,” he says. “Every time I had some money, I was able to hit the road on my motorcycle and find those less fortunate than me whom I could help.”

Making a living from acting in television commercials and providing video and photographic services commercially, Kofi did what he could to help others, but in 2011 he felt a real need to develop his advocacy work further. “I just felt I needed to do more and, as a result, I launched ‘On the Road with Amigos’, which I subsequently registered as ‘On the Road’,” he explains. “Amigos was my nickname at school and it rather stuck,” he adds.

He now combines his commercial activities with his charitable works, using trips to see clients as a springboard to visit urban and rural communities so that he can establish what help might be needed by deprived children, those with special needs and the underprivileged. “I find ‘causes’ on my travels as well as through Facebook referrals,” he says.

“Facebook has become such an important tool through which people can contact me and also via which I can share my experiences.”

On the Road Being on the road so much, Kofi is acutely aware of the dangers faced not just by other road users but pedestrians too. “I have seen too many bad things happen on the road,” he says. “It is disturbing to see so many people injured and killed in circumstances that are, frankly, avoidable.” To this end, Kofi often uses television appearances to show videos he’s taken with a

camera mounted on his crash helmet and to talk about road safety. “It is a subject that’s dear to my heart and using the videos I shoot and my experiences, I am determined to make a difference; to make our roads a safer place for all.”

One could be misled into thinking that in highlighting social issues Kofi is somehow antiestablishment, but he is absolutely apolitical and passionately believes in Ghana and its people. “For me it is very simple,” he says. “I want Ghana and its people to be the best that they can be, and all I do is help and encourage those in need. I am absolutely sure that if one has the heart to share what one has with those that are suffering, then great things can be achieved.

“Giving is simply in my blood,” he continues. “I remember my father helped his community and now my 6-year old daughter, Empress is also showing her love through charity. But it’s not just about giving,” he adds. “I was on one trip and came across a women sitting in a church praying for food. She’d been there for 7-days! I think we all know that praying for food is not a long-term solution, so in these types of situations I try to empower people to create their own initiatives; to become self-sufficient and to add value to their community. I have supported many

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such start-up initiatives and take great comfort from seeing those in desperate situations turn their lot around.”

Making a difference Kofi believes he has been blessed with a gift that enables him to see people facing genuine problems.

“Patience is a perfect example,” he says. “I was out one day trying to find a part for my motorcycle and I happened upon her sitting on the street trying to take care of her young baby while attempting to sell water. Talking with her I discovered the baby’s father had disappeared on news of the pregnancy and so she had no support what-so-ever.

She lived in a small room with seven other women and the children and every day was like climbing a mountain just to survive.”

Kofi was troubled by this encounter and told his daughter of his chance meeting that evening. “Empress Esi Amoah, my wonderful daughter, is a shining light,” says Kofi. “She thought of the plight of Patience and said that she’d save up and buy her a sewing machine as it would be a good thing to help her.”

Empress ‘earns’ money from Kofi by doing well at school and achieving good grades and while most 6-year old girls might look to spend their money on toys or clothes, Empress chose to use her money to help Patience.

Following up on Patience a couple of weeks after delivering the sewing machine and just one day after he was recognised as the SDLG Most Reliable Person in Africa, Kofi said.

“I was so thrilled, excited and honoured to have my efforts recognised in the wonderful SDLG competition. The next day, though, was another day in which I could make a difference, so I was delighted to be able to visit Patience and see how she was getting on with the sewing machine. It was a great pleasure to see some of the clothes she’s made.”

Following his visit to Patience, Kofi then rode his motorcycle some 21/2 hours north west out of the city to

the Agortikope M/A School.

Kofi had promised the children at this small rural school that he’d give them a computer as on his first visit two weeks previously he’d discovered the nearest thing they had was a painting of one on one of the walls! “I was contacted by Fafa Otta, one of the staff teachers at the school, via Facebook,” says Kofi.

“She was following my ‘On the Road’ blog and asked that I visit to see the conditions. On my first visit I gave the children some pencils and notebooks and on seeing the painting of the computer I immediately knew this would be a great thing to help in their education.”

Fafa says: “Kofi’s involvement means so much to the school and all of our pupils. Already his visits are anticipated and talked about by the children and as for the computer… It is such a big development for the school I’m almost lost for words.” Fafa explains that the school lacks facilities and Kofi’s intervention is already helping to address fundamental issues. “He has taken a personal interest in our school and is such an inspiration to all the children here.

We are so grateful for his support and definitely believe the right man was named ‘SDLG Most Reliable Person in Africa’.”

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Ulzen-Appiah Entrepreneur, manager, social media champion and blogger.

He worked at Google as a program manager building sustainable tech communities in Africa.

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to Ulzen-Appiah is a consultant, (social) entrepreneur, manager, social media champion and blogger. He hails from Elmina, grew up in Kumasi and lives in Accra. A notable alumni of Presec, he studied at MIT for his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and had his Master's degree at Stanford in construction and engineering management.

He's the director at the GhanaThink Foundation which mobilizes and organizes talent for the primary beneĂžt of Ghana. GhanaThink, since its inception, has given birth to Kasahorow and Museke. It currently runs the Barcamp Ghana program (82 events since 2008) from which the Junior Camp Ghana program was created (34 events since 2013). Through GhanaThink, he also initiated National Volunteer Day in 2013, which is now part of the Ghana Volunteer Program.

He's a member of the Global Shapers Alumni, part of the World Economic Forum community, which organizes the Accra Discourse. He speaks at multiple events in Ghana and abroad, sharing his insight and experience on topics

ranging from entrepreneurship to engineering and entertainment. He has spoken at events like the World Economic Forum on Africa, the Harvard African Business Conference, Pivot East and the Africa Youth for Results platform.

He worked at Rancard as product manager building new revenue services off its platform, in charge of payments and content hosting. He oversaw the building of the Intel Explore & Learn platform, and the building of the African Leadership Network gathering application. He worked at Google as a program manager building sustainable tech communities in Africa, overseeing scores of tech events around the continent.

has been called the 'African Music Bible'.

Through Museke, he organized 2 African music awards and the website had content from over 45 African countries.

One of Ghana's top bloggers, he blogs about personal experiences and things of interest at mightyafrican.blogspot.com. He's very passionate about Ghana and Africa. He exhibits this through social media greatly, having started the #233moments and #IMGBT trends, the latter of which stands for

He has consulted for and at various organizations. He worked on the Youth Employment Inventory Report as part of a World Bank study in Ghana. He has also mentored and coached Cocoa Sika and Vocoa as part of the International Trade Centre's Chocothon program.

He co-founded Museke.com, an African music website, with a focus of lyrics and

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HOW THE MOVIE BLACK PANTHER INSPIRES US ALL Dr. T. R. Cauthen, PhD

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dvanced civilization. Regal attire. Pristine community.

Organized council of elders.

Identified and respected leader.

Loyal and skilled militia. Native dialect. Knowledge of heritage and self. And then I walked out of the movie theatre. But it was glorious-transporting myself to Wakanda and feeling proud and having a sense of dignity...something not actually afforded...at least, not in its fullness, to the millions of Blacks born in America, descendants of Afrikaans slaves.

Unfortunately, for the so-called Negro, our plight for excellence has been stifled. We are the lost, forgotten bastards and step children of North America's colonialism.

Because the entire fullness of the narrative is omitted in textbooks all across the "fruited plains", and omitted on naturalization exams for citizenship, our cousins from the Mother Continent enter this country and often find us disdainful. But it's not totally their fault. Check with the Phil and Doc on this one.

They see high school dropouts, soaring teen pregnancies, guns traded and fired by minors without military uniforms, and overarching disparities between professional and academic successes between Caucasians and Blacks.

What they don't know is that although both continents were invaded by European colonizers, unlike Mother Afrika, we were enslaved simply because of our skin

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color. We were traded, which included children being separated from their mothers, and husbands sold separately and used to breed other slaves for continued profit.

With each new owner, our names were changed...again. First names were at the behest of the plantation owner. Last names were only attached to identify which Caucasian man owned you--today, SMITH, next month, GRADY. Beaten and stripped of our native tongues! Beaten just to make us submissive! Beaten to teach us NOT to think for ourselves! Beaten like beasts of burden! Men were often raped by slave owners and overseers in plain view--in front of all the others on the plantation; not always for correction, but as a way

of emasculating them and all the other male slaves. By further stripping the men of their dignity, this perpetuated the system of docility.

The great divide between Black Americans and our Cousins on the Continent is deeper than the seas that contain watery graves. In the movie, the opening is more realistic and appreciated in the view of Black Americans. T'Challa's uncle, N'jobu, was a revolutionary and spy, who had fallen in love with a Black woman and gave birth to a son. He had first hand witness of the plight and infiltration in our communities by government sponsored agencies...the intentional chaos which destroyed Black communities in this country. He vowed to help in the quest for overthrowing these adversarial forces.

T'Chaka assassinated his brother and abandoned his nephew. He felt no familial allegiance to the child.

Like the slaughter of our revolutionaries, Black Americans found ourselves in an all too familiar place- a state of disarray. Medgar Evers-1963, Malcolm X-1965, Martin Luther King, Jr.-1968, and Fred Hampton-1969. In less than a decade, we lost our greatest visionaries born in the 20th century.

Unfortunately, with the success of Barrack Obama's election, nothing improved for Black Americans--still a conglomeration of lost tribes.

We latched onto the character of T'Challa for several reasons. (1) he was a Black man and looked like us (2) he was a self-supported Black man, not needing Caucasian government for sufficiency (3) we believed that somewhere during the movie, that he would end up renewing his uncle's quest for justice, by making it his mission to help liberate the diaspora. Deep down inside, Black Americans have this mythological expectation from our Cousins on the Continent...to engraft us, reeducate us, and assist in our efforts to reunify. Instead, we often encounter attitudes that are visceral, almost condescending. We have yet to understand--WHY? Again, Black Americans resumed the view by enjoying the structure and presence of a Wakanda here on Earth...a place where Black people possess every needed resource for

sustainability AND order. The film showered us with a utopian view-imagine if you will-- this was the way things more than likely were PRIOR to European presence on the Mother Continent.

For Black Americans, we were able to see how different tribes could coexist, even with their differences.

We saw how safety and peace were the tantamount objective, and how plausible concessions were made by ALL parties for the GREATER good of them ALL. And the best part...they were Black men AND women.

Wakanda let us see how it's SUPPOSED to be: societies with men and women supporting and defending each other; societies that value the intelligence, resilience and strength of women and their worth to economies and the very existence and advancement of humankind.

We ALSO saw men that defended women and took their places as protector and partners. Yes, we might not want to sometimes admit, but this is a truth...WOMEN need MEN and men NEED women. Our relationships should be on the levels of MUTUAL respect and love.

And so, I watched the film, in awe and wonderment. On the scene, the young phenom Shuri, played an integral part in her nation's safety and advancement. Never once was there a condescending inference regarding her GENDER nor AGE. It beckons to the sounds of George Benson's "THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL " I believe that children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way..."

Disturbing to many Black Americans was the intrusion of the CIA agent.

We have a checkered history with covert operations from our government's 3 LETTER agencies.

When J.Edgar Hoover headed the FBI, mayhem was induced in our communities. Really? Yes, Really. It would behoove you to do a serious investigation and it will come as a surprise to EVERYONE except Black

and Caucasian Americans. Too many to list, but I will offer a few examples.

One of the most vibrant and thriving terrorist hate groups STILL active today in America is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). They are advocates of white supremacy, white nationalism and great hatred for immigrants. Now this is laughable because the LAST time I checked, THEIR ancestors ALSO migrated to this continent from Europe!

Wait a minute--the narrative goes like this: these brave souls journeyed the perilous seas to pursue religious freedom. They boldly sought to discover lands, in the name of their kings and queens.

Of course, upon arrival, these areas were already inhabited, but nonetheless, they laid claim and massacred the natives. Then, they IMPORTED fresh labor to build up their conquests. Not to mention, these people were finally, 'legally' declared 3/5 human.

Now that is a pseudo Cliff Notes version, but that IS what happened to YOUR cousins...YOUR people. The physical separation does NOT negate our shared DNA. Kinfolk.

Period.

In March 1965, FBI failed to prevent salacious and later disproven lies regarding the character of a Caucasian civil rights leader that was assassinated, named Viola Liuzzo. Why? Because one of the actual participants was one of their own informants. People love the late John F. Kennedy, but further focus needs to be made on HIS role in authorizing the FBI to constantly, monitor, wiretap, spy and infiltrate Black civil rights activists and organizations.

Furthermore, our presidents authorized the CIA's COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program).

Allegedly, they were established to disrupt groups and individuals that our "Government" deem "subversive. On their list, included civil rights organizations and activists, feminists, alleged Communists, anti-Viet Nam War activists. They spied on Marcus Garvey (Did the CIA spy on him? Or was it an earlier clandestine group?), Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Black Panther Party. Noticed

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the trend. NO WHERE ON THIS LIST IS THE KKK, ARYAN NATION OR ANY OTHER WHITE NATIONALIST GROUP. Do you know about Dylann Roof?

super hero comic films. And yes, that included Oscar Award winner Forrest "Underpaid" Whittaker.

Why did T'Challa allow CIA Agent Ross to be trusted over his own flesh and blood, Killmonger? Never did he make an effort to listen to, understand, or examine Killmonger's angst. ALL OF HIS POINTS WERE VALID FOR BLACK AMERICANS. Since WHEN do you bring outsiders into your sacred chambers (Shuri's lab)?

What kind of leadership gives away information to sources that have NOT been securely vetted? This trust for Agent Ross, and the mistrust of Killmonger, was most disturbing to Black Americans.

Breaking records all over the world, "Black Panther" proves that Black actors and actresses can command top notch box office presence and sales. But I AM curious regarding a sequel. I DON'T WANT ONE. There is a strong push to present a lesbian relationship among some of the characters. No disrespect to LGBTQI, but why are some of you protesting about your lack of presence in the script?

No one complained about the lack of an LGBTQI character in "Ant Man" and the crickets were chirping when I checked for the same in "Deadpool".

Abandoned by his father's people, Killmonger, had to execute his brilliance by allowing himself to be trained by his adversary. Many moviegoers were distressed by his "violent" behavior, but the critics fail to mention WHY? And MORE importantly, WHO trained him to be this alleged resilient wrecking machine?

Blacks only have a few super hero characters, and this is the FIRST with international theatre command.

Why not be innovative and create a superhero gay man or lesbian woman? I think it would be interesting, and with creativity, a well-constructed script could be evolved. Will it be a box office hit? Who is to say?

Black Americans overwhelmingly supported the movie. We applaud the budget spent in making this film beyond spectacular. For once, it is not a movie about dope, droopy pants and dumbed down dialogue. It DOES promote black excellence. Besides, it was a good paycheck for the actors and actresses, although their salaries were nowhere near the other

One thing for certain, I don't believe that the success of "Black Panther" will be duplicated in a sequel. I don't trust Hollywood to write a credible script. It would be nice just to make movie viewing of the film an annual event during the month of February.

WAKANDA FOREVER!

Our Culture Ghanaians love to dance. Drum rhythms and dance, communicate important messages on all occasions: about unity, bravery in war, honoring ancestors and chiefs, and initiation into adulthood, among others.

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www.aaatuumagazine.com

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3 Ghanaian teenage girls get into Harvard, Yale and MIT With highly competitive admit rates of 4.59% for Harvard, 6.3% for Yale and 6.9% for MIT, young Katia Maame Dufie Osei and Afia Sarpong Frimpong (both of Wesley Girls' High School) and Isabelle Quaye (Ghana International School) managed to find their way through thousands of applicants worldwide.

What all these girls have in common is that they scored higher than 99 percent of all test takers on the SAT in the world.

Harvard University, since its inception in 1636 recorded the lowest admit rate this year. 17- year old Katia Osei has been admitted together with 1,961 students out of 42,749 applicants.

Her outstanding performance in her SAT, WASSCE and numerous excellence awards in high school placed her as one of the few Ghanaian female students to be admitted to Harvard University over the past decade on full scholarship.

Additionally, she was admitted to two other Ivy League schools - Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania.

Afia Sarpong has been counted among

the 2,229 students who were admitted into Yale University also with full scholarship this year with over 35,306 applicants. Afia also made a tremendous achievement in both her SAT, WASSCE and other high school academic records to be admitted into Amherst College as well.

Wesley Girls' High School, Cape Coast can boast of a place in the Harvard and Yale Class entering in August 2018.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is well known for its unrivalled engineering and technology training in the US. Isabelle Quaye, having a compelling record of accomplishment in her high school, national and international platforms, pulled it off among the few to secure her position in the most competitive US engineering colleges: MIT and California Institute of Technology. She also made it to Princeton University, which is among the eight Ivy-league schools.

With the help of AFEX Test Prep an educational enrichment agency located at East Legon, Accra, with branches in Takoradi and Kumasi, these young girls were adequately prepared to excel in their

college preparations and they (this word does not work here) made Ghana proud.

Some 34 other Ghanaian students also received full scholarships to prestigious USA universities through the assistance of AFEX Test Prep. The estimated scholarship amount is about $16.2 million over four years.

"Congratulations! I am delighted to inform you that you have been admitted into. . were words that flooded decision letters of these high school graduates who are ready to fly to the US for higher education.

Zylofon CEO wins Best Business Executive of the Year award source: myjoyonline.com

Nana Appiah Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of the Zylofon conglomerate, Menzgold and other reputable firms, has annexed another prestigious award - adding to the plethora of others (awards) won in a short space of time.

He was adjudged the Best Business Executive of the Year at the 8th Ghana Entrepreneur a n d Co r p o ra t e E xe c u t i ve

Awards 2018 which was held at the Movenpick Ambassador H o t e l i n A c c ra , ove r t h e weekend.

In a short span, Nana Appiah Mensah has projected Zylofon as one of the most progressive business entities – setting up various viable entities under the brand including Zylofon Media, Zylofon Music, Zylofon Marketing, Zylofon Cash,

Zylofon Events, Zylofon Arts Fu n d , Zy l o fo n A r t s Cl u b, Zylofon Movies and Zylofon Publishing.

With Zylofon and Menzgold offices springing up steadily across the regions of the country, Nana Appiah has employed thousands of young, enterprising Ghanaians, who are building such a force in state activism and economic development.

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2nd Generation British-Ghanaians willing to relocate home

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Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Jerry Tsatro Mordy with additional files from Ghana's High Commission in UK/Ireland | Email: jerry.mordy@myjoyonline.com, Twitter: @jerrymordy

n overwhelming majority of British with Ghanaian origins say they would consider relocating to Ghana, a study has revealed.

The study found that almost half of the respondents say the dominant form of engagement among second-generation BritishGhanaians is sending social remittances, which are defined as the knowledge, ideas, and social capital 'sent' to migrants home countries.

Education, health and entrepreneurship were considered high priority in this regard.

Language fluency and a strong sense of cultural identity were the strongest predictors of social remittance sending.

This study was carried out by an NGO, the Future of Ghana and findings published on March, 21 (Do you need the year here?). It explores the financial and social remittance practices of secondgeneration British-Ghanaians and the factors that influence their

Africa's Century.

The High Commissioner, who delivered the keynote address, indicated that, since assuming office, his main priorities have been to increase the level of trade and investment between Ghana and (the?) United Kingdom and deepen engagement with the Ghanaian diaspora Community.

motivations to engage with Ghana in these ways.

The study employed a mixed methods design, and consisted of an online survey, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews for data collection. For each stage of the study, there were 493, 25 and 8 participants respectively.

Speaking at the launch of the report last Wednesday, Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK and Republic of Ireland, Papa OwusuAnkomah remarked that (there?) has never been so much positive (talk?) about the future of the continent, and especially Ghana, giving the young human resource which abounds in every sector of the economy. Paragraph needs to be reworded. I am not sure whaat the author is trying to say.

Addressing a large crowd of second-generation British-Ghanaian youth at the Regent's University Campus in London Papa OwusuAnkomah Papa Owusu-Ankomah reiterated the call that this is

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The event attracted more than 300 participants drawn from mainly second-generation British-Ghanaian youth. According to the High Commissioner, the event has offered him the opportunity to interact with the second Generation British Ghanaians for the first time.

He commended the excellent work done by the Future of Ghana Group, its chair, Arnold Sarfo Katanka and his team, and pointed out that the research will complement the recent work on Diasporan Remittances undertaken by the Commonwealth Secretariat for the Heads of Government at the next CHOGM Meeting in London in a few weeks' time.

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HEALTH

Your Roadmap To Best Health:

6 Things You Can Do To Greatly Improve Your Health Part 1 in a series by Doc Wilson

P

ractically everyone says that they want to have great health. However, my observations over the decades suggest that, in this area, human nature is much like that in the business arena where many say that they want to become millionaires or billionaires, but are not willing to muster the energy, the diligence, and the desire that are required to achieve such dreams; in other words, most people will remain just unrealistic dreamers until the day they die. Let's hope that you are among the realistic dreamers who shun the superficial, ineffective, silver-bullet approaches, and understand that perhaps more than a little effort may be required!

Whether you are working on your business, or on your health, the principles are the same!

For your road to the best health, let's start with the 6 most important things you can do to greatly improve your health – starting today!

1. Make certain that you get at least 2, and preferably 3, great strengthbuilding workouts every week, or virtually every week. This will help you in many ways. For example, when practiced regularly, strength workouts will boost the function of your immune system so that your risks for developing cancers and infections will be reduced significantly. In addition, building strong muscles will make your bones stronger and denser so that your risk for developing osteoporosis will be greatly lowered. Also, you will find that both your balance, and your energy level, will improve immensely.

Doc Wilson, PhD

Furthermore, if you have high blood pressure, or are genetically prone to developing it at some future time, strength training will help prevent or reverse your potential for developing hypertension, or will help reverse your actual hypertension, if you have it. Finally, if you are seeking to lose excess weight, strength workouts will be helpful because they will boost your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which will help produce significant “after burn” calories (that is, calories that are burned after completion of your workout).

To be in the most effective zone for strength building, use the following guidelines.

For upper body exercises (chest, arms, and upper back muscles), choose weights /resistance levels such that you can do only 8 to 10 repetitions (“reps”) to the point of “muscle failure” (= the point at which you just cannot do anymore, and you struggled to do the last 1 or 2 reps). ·For lower body exercises (leg muscles), choose

weights/resistance levels such that you can do only 12 to 15 reps to muscle failure (or 15 to 20 reps to muscle failure if you are weak and uncomfortable with the slightly heavier workout; once you have sufficiently built up your leg strength, you can then switch to the more demanding standard).

For core muscles (abdominal, lower back, and “side” or “oblique” muscles), choose weights/ resistance levels such that you can do only 8 to 20 reps to muscle failure.

For these exercises, select a total of 10 to 15 exercises that, collectively, target a balanced range of muscles in each of the above 3 body areas.

For each exercise, doing just one set of “8 to 10,” “12 to 15,” or “8 to 20” reps to muscle failure (per the above protocol) is perfectly acceptable, and will very well serve your health objectives. If you truly enjoy exercising, and have the time, feel free to do 2 or 3 sets of each exercise at each workout, or, perhaps better yet, select one day a week to do more than one set for each exercise.

2. Make certain that, each week or virtually every week, you get 3 (and no more than 3) great cardio workouts; specifically, be sure that you do some sort of interval training, or at least work up to it over a period of 2 to 6 weeks. How will this help you? As with strength training, sufficiently demanding cardio workouts not only will increase your energy level, and reduce your risks for contracting cancers and infections via heightened function of your

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immune system, but also contribute to losing excess weight or weight control. Similarly, regular cardio workouts will work strongly to reverse or prevent high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases [such as heart attacks, strokes, deep vein thromboses (DVTs), metabolic syndrome, and senior dementia/Alzheimer's)]. Part of the mechanism for reducing your risks for cardiovascular diseases is reduction of inflammation in your blood vessels – particularly in your arteries; this reduces the stickiness of the inner linings of your blood vessels so that plaque buildup is reduced, or even reversed – especially when you routinely combine this exercise with healthy nutrition and the other healthy lifestyle choices discussed in this essay.

You need to work up to higher levels of cardio workouts such that you “get out of breath.” By far, the best kind of cardio exercise to help you experience such an outstanding workout is interval training. Not only will your cardio workouts produce much better results, but your workouts will also be much shorter! (This is a true blessing if you are time scrunched 24/7!)

Your heavy duty workouts for both strength and cardio conditioning should follow an every-other-day schedule to allow time for recuperation so that you do not tear or strain any of your muscles,

or damage any of your tendons and ligaments. From a pure economy of schedule viewpoint, your ideal regimen is to do both your strength and your cardio exercises on the same days each week (that is, “consolidated workouts”) – for example, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The optimum order for doing all of your exercises on a given day (i.e., a consolidated workout) is: · upper body strength exercises first, ·

cardio exercise second, and

· leg and core muscles third (in whatever order you desire for your leg and core muscle exercises).

If you want to spread out your workouts over, say, 6 days each week, the following is the optimum order for such “split workouts”: · upper body strength exercises on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday (for example), and · cardio exercises, followed by leg and core strength exercises, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday (for example).

This regimen allows proper recuperation of your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, etc., so that you will greatly reduce your risk for tearing your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Also, you can reverse these two types of workouts; that

is, you can do your upper body strength exercises on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and your cardio-leg strength-core strength exercises on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. In addition, you could follow a five-day regimen with the above split workouts on, say, Monday through Thursday, and a consolidated workout on Saturday.

Potential diabetics (that is, one or more of your bloodline relatives have developed type 2 diabetes, or you experienced gestational diabetes during a pregnancy, or you have been diagnosed as being prediabetic), and diabetics should exercise every day to help maintain peak post meal blood sugar values at safe levels.

If you are in the “3 good workouts/week” mode, maintain that schedule, but add short (10 to 20 minutes only) and relatively easy cardio workouts (but not strength workouts) on the other 4 days of the week.

Do these workouts either just after a meal (the ideal time), or just before a meal; this will help reduce the peak levels of your blood glucose. (Your peak levels of blood glucose potentially are the biggest culprits in causing diabetic damage in your body; and high levels of blood glucose can also occur in many non-diabetics – which can cause diabetic-type damage even in the absence of diabetes!)

More in the next edition.

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Food Ghana’s Most Loved meal “Red Red” tasteofslow.com

Red-red is a popular dish in Ghana, and it is normally made vegetarian. To my knowledge, the spots in Ghana will prepare this dish without any broth from meat or fish, but you never know…. If you want to be sure to avoid meat and fish, ask them if they use meat or broth from meat, fish or stock cubes in their stew. The other alternative is: make it yourself – it is delicious!

Red-red is a Ghanaian stew made from beans, and it gets the red color from the red palm oil that they use to prepare the

stew, and most places it will also be prepared with tomato paste.

It is most common to find it with black eyed beans, but any beans will do.

Palm oil is common in Ghana, and you will see them sold in plastic bottles in the markets. Worldwide there are discussions on the impact of the palm oil production on the environment and on animal species. This is especially regarding the situation in Asia, where large areas have been deforested to make space for mono culture palm

tree plantations. To my knowledge, the same issue is not related to palm oil in WestAfrica. Here they use the whole palm fruit to make to different types of oil. Palm oil is made from the mesocarp of the fruit and is used for cooking purposes, and palm kernel oil is made from the kernel. While reading about palm oil, I stumbled upon this great explanation of the two different palm oils.

This is my version of red-red, inspired by recipes I learned when living in Ghana.

Ingredients: 250 grams dry black eyed beans 2,5 dl palm oil (the red type) 4 red onions, medium sized 1 small box tomato paste 1-2 red chili 2-3 cm fresh ginger 3 cloves of garlic 5 tomatoes 2-3 dl water 2-3 ts salt pinch of sugar If available: fresh plantain (food banana) Possible substitute: rice

Instructions Wash and boil the beans for about 30 minutes or till soft.

Drain them and put aside.

Add the palm oil and chopped onions in a pan, and boil for about 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and chopped chili, ginger and garlic, then chopped tomatoes, water, salt and a pinch of sugar. Let it boil for about 30 minutes, then add the drained beans. Bring to boil, and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Add more spices and salt to taste.

In the traditional cooking in Ghana the onion, chili, ginger, garlic and tomatoes will be grounded to a smooth paste. I prefer to chop it in small chunks.If you have access to plantain: remove the peel, and chop the plantain in small pieces. Use your favorite oil to fry the banana until soft with a brownish color. Remove them from the oil, and drain on a kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt and other spices if you wish.

If you want to make the real thing, I found this recipe for more advanced kelewele seasoned with a spice mix before frying on another blog.

If you don´t have access to plantain, the red-red can be served with boiled rice.

It may also be served with fresh vegetables – but that is not common in Ghana! http://tasteofslow.com/ghan aian-recipe-red-red/

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The Empty-nesters' Manual

by Ben Owusu Firempong

D

id you rejoice and clap your hands in pure delight when your tiny infant stood up for the first time and took their first – forgive the cliché – baby steps? Of course you did! You might even have bragged about it at the office, boring the hell out of your colleagues who were only making polite enquiries about your baby's health. You were probably so excited you didn't notice that your baby's first steps were taken in the direction of the exit. And when you bragged about it at the office, you didn't notice the looks of sympathy from your much older colleagues.

Oh, the bliss of ignorance! Your little birds had indeed announced their clear intention to flee your nest.

One day, your home is alive with the sounds of your children squabbling, cell phones tingling with text messages, Youtube and Itunes blasting on all laptops and laughter.

In spite of all your yelling, your kitchen sink is full of unwashed dishes, beds are still unmade and homework is still relegated to the last half hour before school. Your phone is ringing off the hook and young men, some with unbroken voices, are making tentative enquiries about your daughters, or young women about your sons, wanting to conduct a collective activity generically

known as 'hanging out' (a term you have researched on Wikipedia without success).

And then, without warning, the children flee the nest….

You should have seen this coming, shouldn't you? But that's the nature of parenthood. Nobody tells you anything. At the hospital, the doctors, midwives or whoever delivers your baby, gives you a hearty congratulatory pat on the back and sends you on your merry way with vague instructions to the effect that you're on your own. It's so unfair.

Even the simplest of appliances comes with a manual and, if you're lucky, a return policy and a warranty.

Why not children? Even a small hint that these little bundles of joy will as soon as they are toilet trained and can feed and clothe themselves - put finishing touches to their plan to flee from custody – would have been helpful.

But I, in the pure spirit of altruism, determined to save succeeding generations of empty nesters from the scourge of Youtube-lessness, easily available TV remote controls, washed dishes, made beds, completed homework and silent phones, take it upon myself to produce a manual of signs and

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symptoms for the guidance of said generations. A pompous ass, I may be, but my intentions are pure.

Consider this the first instalment.

You can thank me later.

We have already discussed the exitbound first baby steps. Fast forward to adolescence. One morning you are expelled from the bathroom because your little girl who, until then, had followed you around with her bathroom accoutrements, begging you to give her a pre-school bath, has decided from some strange reason, that you can only see her fully clothed. While you're still recovering from this shock, you discover that she, in cahoots with your wife, has relieved you of the task of shopping for her undergarments.

Eventually you're relieved all shopping for any young ladies' garments; only your finances are required to complete this task. Your sons will take a little longer to impose these restrictions but impose they will – eventually enough. By the way, the larger reserves of feminine products in the bathroom closet is not because your wife suspects a massive price increase in the near future……And your fast diminishing supply of razors and cologne are easily explained; your son has somebody to impress….

Your little birds will eventually be licensed by the powers that be to operate motor vehicles - starting with yours. One Saturday morning, your son takes his mother for grocery shopping, a task that accounts for your firm biceps and which you have routinely performed with anguish for years - for your spouse can drive too.

You gratefully curl up in the sofa and with newspaper TV remote and think this must be a good thing. You poor chap! You will observe soon enough how your car is increasingly unavailable to you, how strong the bonds between the needle in the fuel gauge and the letter 'E' in the bottom left corner have become, and how dents and scratches quickly attach themselves to your vehicle.

Teenagers and young adults are interesting people. They think fuel, electricity and petrol grow on trees.

Be aware, O prospective Emptynester; Driving is a natural progression from aforementioned baby steps! It is the primary means by which nests are vacated, usually towards an airport and a destination beyond a Sabbath day's journey.

Do not be disheartened. The escaped birds will call you often on the phone.

Just because it is the nature of birds to leave the nest without being fully prepared, be aware of certain forms of address, the specifics of which will differ from household to household.

In my case, “Hey Daddy”, signifies normal banter – the type I miss and desire. When 'hey' is absent, I am all ears; my counsel or approval on a serious matter is required. “Hey Pops” evokes different response; my wallet quivers and the decimal point in my bank account balance starts moving leftwards. My usual response to 'Hey Pops!” call is a resigned sigh, “What do you need?”, haggling and a trip to Western Union…..

But it's not all gloom and despair.

There are dividends that can only be reaped in a nest that is empty. You will come to understand why the two-seater in your living room is called a love seat. Living room cuddles will no longer be furtive. The possibility of cuddles with happy endings increases exponentially.

Time to get your creative juices flowing (pun intended).

Have no fear; birds do return to the nest to seek respite from the cruel world out there - the one you've been trying to protect them from. Life, as you know it, will return to some semblance of normalcy. The kitchen sink will fill up, the TV remote will be passed to every hand but yours, and your car and the garage will go their separate ways. True, they will head out again into said cruel world after a short while, and you can return to your creative cuddling soon enough.

A word of caution; should the subject of 'pension babies' come up in conversations with your spouse; expunge it completely from your thoughts – or rather her thoughts.

You have been warned.

BOF

Our Culture Most funerals are held on the weekends, most frequently on Saturdays. Mourners, usually dressed in black or black and red traditional funeral clothing, may travel to other towns or villages, and in turn they expect the bereaved families to provide food, drinks, music and dance.

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GHANA LAND OF

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MILLION

MAGICIANS Article by Paul Kokutse Vorwutor

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letter from unclepaul

…Where Moesha Boduong Gets into Trouble for Telling the Truth “Women can never keep secrets. But the only secret they can keep is about their sex life.”

That is not my quotation. It is my friend's. He would say it with so much conviction. He was a history teacher at Aquinas Secondary School so he might know what he was talking about.

That may include most African women. We live on a continent where we behave like peacocks always with our heads in the sand.

We will never tell the truth as it is. I had a shock when in class in the US the professor asked how many of us

IMAGINE TO MY

SHOCK

when she told me! And with whom she had done it with! smoked. Many hands went up! That included some ladies! That wouldn't happen back home. Their honesty set me thinking for a long time. I was in conversation with this lady one day when I plucked up the courage and asked her the last time she had had sex. Imagine to my shock when she told me! And with whom she had done it with! Then on two occasions, these women told me they had “sex partners” who they would meet, sleep together with and go their ways.

Paul Korkutse Vowotor

From the culture I came from, these were issues that bothered me in the US. But I have accepted them as just the level of brutal honesty that prevails in this country.

Everything has to be on the table. It is like knowing the truth to set you free.

I bet actress Moesha Boduong must have lived in climes like these to tell CNN's Christiane Amanpour on her documentary 'Sex and Love around the world' that she was a mistress to a married man who took care of her needs while she compensated him with sex. Bravo to her for her honesty. I don't know what to think of those people, especially women, who condemn her for her honesty. To them she broke a taboo. It shows hypocrisy. Amanpour's reaction to Moesha was not that of shock. She calmly accepted what she was told and put the

same question the other lady. As expected she answered it the way she was supposed to answer so as not to break the taboo. Then knowing how the system works, she might be hiding something.

Aren't things changing for the betterment as a country?

Moesha Boduong must be commended for telling the truth. Not condemned. …Where a Pensioner President Has a Change of Heart Ex-President John Mahama has a change of heart! Yes! According to him, “Let us be decorous in our political discourse. Because now, if you read the Bible of the Koran, they emphasize the power of the word, what you speak has more power that even your physical action. And the words once they leave your mouth you cannot take them back. And so let us be cautious about the words we speak… now we have social media. And so something you say will come to haunt you forever and ever and ever again.”

That was at a so-called Unity Walk held in Wa in the Upper West Region organized by the NDC. Honestly this man might have brought back some hope to Ghanaians, considering the loose and incendiary talk thrown around by some members of his party in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. The messages could be directed at these reckless people like Korku Anyidoho and others muttering nonsense like “a coming coup d'état” maybe because they are seeing the bottom of their barrel of loot and have Martin Amidu breathing fire down their necks.

Ex-President John Mahama is on pension and pension can be a daunting era in a person's life.

My old man was a workaholic. His whole life so revolved around his work that he never liked going on leave. And if he did, he had the habit of finding time to go “check” if the boys were doing things right. And so as happens, when a person like him, who lived his life with no time for leisure, goes on pension he enters an unchartered life and a big paradigm shift.

You could become a nuisance to your better half if you are now seen around unnecessarily tinkering with stuff. A man would not mind being seen as giving a helping hand around.

But to the lady of the house you may be seen as a pest at times.

I guess similar conditions may be prevailing in a former president's house. What would Lordina, 55, want her husband John, 59, be doing hanging around the house. The boredom could be the reason she would wish

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letter from unclepaul her husband were keeping himself busy with something. He does not state whether he intends to stand for president in the 2020 elections. He says he is focused on restructuring his party and what he says could be part of his plans. Rawlings told us he would be farming. What could Kuffour be doing apart from being seen attending lodge meetings?

I remember being the son living closest to our parents; I had to be settling little disputes and disagreements whenever I visited. It would normally be the same issues which were recycled and retold to get my sympathy. Out of the blues one day, I suggested to them that normally if couples were getting too much on each other's nerves, then it could be the time for divorce.

The room suddenly went still. I saw the old lady alarmed and slowly shaking her head.

From the old man was

“Tsoo Korkutse, this is not what we are here to discuss.”

They were like “You must be crazy. After more than fifty years of marriage? How dare you mention that abominable word!”

I found the lovebirds would not allow me an “outsider” to come mess with them. There was more to life than indulging in petty squabbles. And so, right there in my face, they started talking to each other in peace and friendship - a signal to me that they would want me to disappear and leave them alone. From then on, I was never called upon again to help settle any of their little tiffs.

Mahama is now preaching reforms and restructuring to a party in dire straits wondering if they would ever take back the reins of government. In retirement come reflections and good ideas are conjured up by “pensioned” heads of state too. What do you do after running the whole gamut of Maslow's Hierachy of needs when the next milestone of your life could be your demise?

Fortunately for you, you may not be able to join the rest of the world to mourn you. For

Mahama, apart from presiding over other countries' elections, these NDC Unity Walks must be good therapy for a former president. He must be rebuking people like Korku Anyidoho who, in the name of democracy and freedom of speech, would threaten an elected government with a message of a coup d'état. He must be made to face the law.

This man and his NDC cohorts concocted stories about how AkufoAddo had sold the country to the US in a Ghana-US military pact and the country would be invaded by the US military. You wonder how these people are able to concoct such a devious plan and execute elaborate demonstrations including some of the NDC apparatchiks riding on horseback –all these with the support of an ignorant mass. You could see these could be signs of desperation - indications the perpetrators of this so-called OccupyGhana nonsense could be seeing the bottom of their barrel of loot. Voltaire says, “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”

President Akufo-Addo must have felt the threat to Ghana's survival to say, “It is difficult to understand that such people, knowing what they do know, would set about would so blatantly confuse people, and go as far as calling for the overthrow of our democracy? A democracy that has become the beacon of good governance in Africa?”

It is admirable Mahama has reached this moment in his life when he is saying things he dared not tell his party when they were in power and the “babies with sharp teeth” had their way.

At that Unity Walk in Wa, the ex-president cautioned members of his party against disrespecting Jerry Rawlings. “Let us be cautious of the words that come out of our mouth. Let them be positive even if we have political opponents and I am not talking of only within our party - even outside our party. Let us talk about ideas and not personal insults. And I want to particularly talk about our founder. You might not like something he says or you might not like an action that he might have undertaken. You can disagree with his view but don't insult him. Don't insult his person.” …Where Ghanaians are Under Assault by “Men of God” It is said that success must be defined as the balance between one's spiritual, financial, educational and recreational lives. But in

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Ghana our definition of success is to get money with the help of a “man of god” and the more “powerful” he is the easier for you.

Through him all wealth and blessings flow The other day I was once standing by the food vendors near Legon Police Station.

Among them was this man Bible-thumping preacher with an extraordinarily loud voice.

He drew people's attention with his antics and comic exaggerations. A lady in police uniform standing by me made a funny comment about “what these people can do to attract attention” and we laughed.

Suddenly this preacher then asked people to come forward so he could pray for them.

Imagine my shock when I saw this policewoman dash to the front of the preacher to take her “blessings”. She was just scorning the man a while ago!

These “men of god” are now the most feared people among us. Our media is to blame for shamelessly raising the profiles of these men. They coined the “man of god” accolade for these men who never have to go for any kind of training to qualify as such.

Anybody can wake up and tell us he is has divine powers and attract a crowd who want to get rich without working for it. A friend tells the story of walking behind some two young men who were from church. They stopped by a beautiful house and started shouting “I claim this house in the name of Jesus.” When asked why they were making such pronouncement they claimed that was a directive from their “man of god.”

These men have so conned some of us. And so Nigel Gaisie, Founder and Leader of True Fire Prophetic Ministry says Akufo Addo would suffer defeat in the 2020 election because he is a one-term President, and John Mahama would win the elections hands down. The same man “predicts” there would be severe storms in August of

letter from unclepaul this year. But anybody can make these predictions with the emergence of Google and Weather apps.

Meanwhile, Owusu Bempah of the Glorious Word Ministry International also “declares” his results for the 2020 election. He states that Akufo Addo would win while Mahama would again be defeated.

Since the death of Ebony Reigns, many prophets have invaded the system, with many claims of visions they have seen from God. Interestingly, the visions seem to be mostly about the death of celebrities. The same Nigel Gaisie boasted he had “predicted” Ebony Reigns would die.

You ask why these vultures won't hide their shamelessness and were out taking advantage of the death of the young lady who died in a road accident caused by a “contractor” who left a pile of sand in the middle of the road. How desperate can these people be to indulge in such abominable self-righteous pronouncements about the death of someone's child?

One woman confronting these frauds is Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa, popularly called Afia Shwarzenegger – the “queen of TV”.

She has had her share of with controversy, including a viral nude video of her allegedly being caught in bed with another man by her ex (who was rumored to have peddled the video). She has been trashed by many.

But she is like nothing ever happened to her.

She is resilient and brave. She shows no reverence for these quacks. She is on a onewoman-crusade attacking our so-called “men of god” these charlatans. Obinim has had his share from her. This man could line up members of his congregation and, in the full glare of the rest of his audience, ask them how many times they have had slept

with men or women, to the titillation of eve r y b o d y p a r t a k i n g o f t h i s we i rd voyeurism.

Afia Shwarzenegger stormed the studios of Kasapa FM to “question the credibility” of Kumchacha as a “prophet” resulting in a shouting match that ended at the police station. In the video of their confrontation we see the “prophet” throw away all civility to deal with this lady in a way not as anyone would expect a “man of god” to behave. It is reported only 5 members showed up for his church the Sunday after this fight with the “queen on TV.” Afia Shwarzenegger's exposés on these men must give confidence to Ghanaians that there are still some voices out there that show us that despite all perceived fears and consequences that may follow, these goons can be prevailed upon and called to

order. Will the press have the courage to emulate this lady instead of always mocking her and always putting her down?

She is an epitome of how to trip, fall down and get back up.

In parting, let us remember again Ebony Reigns. Her sudden death shocked everybody. As Ghanaians, we want to talk and live life. Ebony oozed life. No wonder posthumously, she won the Artiste of the Year award at this year's Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.

May she rest in peace.

Paul Korkutse Vowotor lives in Columbia, South Carolina. He describes himself as “a liberal with a sneer.” He can be contacted on e-mail at korkutse@yahoo.com , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/korkutse and on Twitter at @korkutse.

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DILYS

SILLAH

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MOVIE REVIEW

AMINA. A Girl. Warrior. Legend.

A New Nigerian Movie that caught my eye: Watch Trailer on YOUTUBE

S

he lived in the age of a man's world. In an ancient world of brutal conflicts, ferocious animal passions, suppressive timeless customs, and reckless, heroic exploits. She must resolutely carve out a part of her life in the face of scandalized tradition and antagonistic male dominance. To grasp her destiny, she must prove herself not just as able, but infinitely more capable than any man alive.

Horse-sweat soaked battlegrounds, Majestic medieval palaces of mud and stone.

Dusty hovels of the desperately poor, the spectacular grandeur of imperial Dubars, And the tense intrigues of age-old royal courts: Sub-Saharan Africa explodes into life, power, and sound in ”AMINA”, the thrilling epic movie about the most charismatic warrior, sovereign and queen in the history of Africa.

Fathered by the legendary warrior, expansionist, and empire builder, Barkwa Turunku, Aminatu, alluring princess and first daughter to the renowned Barkwa nurses a burning

ambition never before imagined: To sit as queen over a Zazzau empire that stretches from Kano to River Niger, from Idah to Jukunland. In an age of female subjugation and an oppressive, male sponsored traditional system, no sane woman would dare conceive such dreams; and only the most foolishly reckless would move on to attempt actualization. (This paragraph may need more work) From warrior- princess to supreme military commander; from sorrowful lover to crafty politician; Amina must suppress natural filial emotions in order to accomplish the impossible, attain the unattainable and ultimately convince the skeptical empire of her ability to make true Zazzau's long cherished dreams of dominance over all of the Sub-Sahara.

Pitted without, against panicked kings and Sarkis of neighboring vassal states, and within; Zazzau's ambitious war generals, princes, politicians, and the sinister all powerful Madawaki or minister of war whose hunger for the throne of

Zazzau is equaled only by his lust for its lovely occupant; Amina must play statesman and military strategist, patriot and queen, ruthless executioner and gentle mother to Zazzau's oppressed millions to achieve her goal of creating a better?

Zazzau, a more humane, civilized Zazzau standing on the foundations of modern-day governmental structures.

The movie ”AMINA” expertly chronicles the legendary many lives of this exceptional woman; the pain and the agony caused by the betrayal of cherished lovers; the ferocious savagery in the face of all battles and enemies; the cunning manipulation at will of the nobles and sovereigns of kingdoms; and the tender concern over the down trodden Talakawas or common people.

A fascinating tale, a gripping narrative, guaranteed to stir in every man and woman a longing to arise, spear in hand, in the interest of justice to face the deadly foe - as the savage drums of war throb on...

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Awo Awo is a Healthcare Manager based in Maryland. She loves being a mother to 11 month old Shiloh and driving her red Mini Cooper.

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AMANDA AGANA She ran from years of abuse in Ghana.

Now she runs for the U.S. Naval Academy.

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manda Agana always had an answer ready to go. She would slide off her track pants and knew her running shorts couldn’t hide her past.

rocks. Her knuckles cracked with rulers. Her arms and back whipped with sticks. Her skin singed with the smoldering end of a stick. But most of the abuse was saved for her legs.

“ W h e re a re yo u r s c a r s f ro m? ” someone would inevitably ask.

“My legs — isn’t that funny?” she says without laughing. “The place that endured the most pain is the place that’s helped me get to where I am.”

“Oh, well, I grew up in Africa,” she would say with a shrug. “I fell off a lot of trees.”

She chuckles at it now. Last time she counted, there were more than 100 marks dotting her legs, arms, hands and back. “Right here. Right here.

Right here. Right here,” says the 21year-old Agana, a middle-distance runner for Navy’s track team, her i n d ex fi n g e r t ra c i n g a m a p o f childhood pain along one leg. None of the marks and scars were from falling out of trees.

“What am I supposed to tell these American kids that had never known true pain in their lives? ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I lived three years of my life being beaten every day and being taken advantage of every day,’ ” she says.

Agana’s fingertips were smashed with

Losing her best friend On a recent afternoon, Agana circled the track at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and was easy to spot. It’s not the scars but rather her long, graceful stride, looking almost like an ice skater gliding toward the finish line.

The path to Annapolis can be circuitous for every midshipmen on campus, but Agana’s journey is among the most improbable. Her starting line was a village called Zaare in northern Ghana. She was the youngest of three, but her family grew to 20 when an uncle died and Agana’s father inherited his brother’s children.

By time Agana was 7, her parents had separated and her mother, Bertha, had been sick for many years. She

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knew her mother wasn’t doing well — pneumonia that the family believes was linked to tuberculosis — but still thought little of it when she bounded home from school one day and climbed onto her mother’s bed, bragging about her score on a French test. Everyone else in the room remained quiet. Agana thinks maybe 30 minutes passed.

“Finally, my grandmother came and took me away, and I didn’t understand why,” Agana says. “But later that day I found out that she had already been deceased for a few hours. Nobody knew how to tell me.”

Her mother, she says, was her best friend. At the time, Agana says, she wasn’t particularly close to her father.

In their culture, the father is the provider, and John Agana had many to provide for.

“I wasn’t always around all the time. I had to work,” John says. “I had a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders.”

Their relationship was complicated.

Amanda saw little of her father and was looking for an outlet for her grief and anger.

AMANDA AGANA “I felt as though he had left my mom to die. Somehow I blamed him,” she says.

“I didn’t really understand why he couldn’t save her.”

John Agana traveled around the region for work, collecting and selling hand-woven baskets, trinkets and wares from the region. One of his sisters came forward and offered to take Amanda. He hoped he had found a maternal figure.

“I asked Amanda and said, ‘I don’t know this auntie really well. Do you want to go?’ ” he recalls. “She said yes.

I don’t think we knew what it would be like.”

Treated like a servant Amanda was 8 when she moved to a village a couple of hours away to live with the aunt. The woman resembled the young girl’s mother, and Amanda was happy to be in a family e nv i ro n m e n t . S h e h e l p e d w i t h cooking and cleaning and thought nothing of her chore list.

in the eyes of God — by serving other people,” Agana recalls. “So I thought it was fair, like I deserved to suffer because I took that light away from people.”

Ag a n a h a d t o r e m i n d h e r s e l f constantly that she wanted to live, setting small bench marks: if I can just make it to breakfast and then if I can just make it to lunch.

She saw her father only occasionally during this period. He would come through town, bringing clothes or gifts. But he never knew what his daughter was enduring.

“I wanted to tell him what was happening, but I also didn’t want him to worry. He had 20-some kids to take care of. I felt like they needed him. I didn’t,” she says. “All I needed was my mom. And she was gone.”

For three years, Agana says, she lived in misery. She rarely attended school.

She had scabs and sores on her head and legs. Her only refuge was a field where she would chew on sugar cane

But as the weeks passed, her aunt awoke earlier each morning — 6:30, then 5:30 and then 4:30. The work demands grew, and she was tasked with sweeping, cooking, c l e a n i n g , d i s h e s , l a u n d r y, preparing meals, getting children off to school, opening up the family’s shop. Soon she was missing school entirely to stay back and work around the family’s home and shop.

“She kept telling me that it’s what I deserved because I had killed my mom. She said this is how you repent

Amanda resisted Carol at first. She didn’t trust her, and the language barrier certainly didn’t help. Still, Carol was struck by something in the young girl.

She recalls one day, preparing a meal inside the kitchen. She gave Amanda some money to buy tomatoes, and the girl took off running out the door barefoot.

“I looked out the window, and it was the most amazing thing. I got chills all over,” Carol says. “I went to the door and followed her as long as I could. She was like a gazelle, a ballerina on the run.”

There were signs, too, that something was amiss: scabs and scars and clothing that had been sent as gifts that Amanda no longer had.

“I wanted a mom, but she didn’t want a daughter,” Agana says today. “She was looking for a servant, and that’s how she treated me.”

Ag a n a s ays s h e wa s re g u l a r l y punished if tasks weren’t completed fast enough or to her aunt ’s satisfaction. She developed sores on her head from carrying a water basin from the well, and on weekends she was told to pluck branches off trees and soak them in water. They would be used for lashings throughout the week.

John online, and the two struck up a friendship. Soon Carol found herself in a small African village, eager to meet John’s daughter.

and cry.

“And then one day my dad showed up,” Agana says, “and he had this blue-eyed, pineapple-color-haired white woman who was just happy as can be and saying she’s going to be my new mom.”

New way of life Carol Meadows was a nurse practitioner and an instructor at the University of Arkansas. She had bought some African goods from

“I remember they brought me beautiful white shirts and white dresses,” Agana recalls.

“My aunt said I was too dirty to wear them. She gave the shirts to her sons and sold the dresses.”

The next spring, in April 2008, John and Carol Agana showed up again, this time to take Amanda away. John was relocating to Fayetteville, Ark., with his new bride and wanted his daughter to go with him. Amanda was eager to get away but knew nothing about her new home. She was quiet and still filled with anger. The other

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AMANDA AGANA In Annapolis, Agana is a jovial presence at practices, high energy with a big personality.

“People kind of flock to her, especially kids. She has a smile that draws people in,” said Jamie Cook, Navy’s director of track and field. “She has a natural charisma about her. You can tell she’s going to be a really good leader.”

kids looked and acted d i ff e r e n t l y. S h e l o v e d having her own bed, electricity, running water.

But adapting was still a process. Carol would find food hidden in her stepdaughter’s drawer.

“It took her a long time to trust me,” Carol says. “She thought I was going to abuse her, too, I guess.”

John and Carol remained patient. They started functioning like a family, and Amanda slowly accepted her father wasn’t leaving and her new mother loved her.

“It is different here,” her father says. “I have time; I’m always home. We’re able to bond more.”

Amanda saw a therapist, and in time she shared with her parents what those three-plus years had been like and how they had hardened her.

“I really think that emotionally she suffered more than physically,” Carol says today.

Carol remembered watching her stepdaughter run and in the seventh grade urged her to join a crosscountry team. Suddenly, Amanda was part of a team and felt a sense of accomplishment when she ran, even if the entire exercise was still felt a bit foreign.

“It was weird because when I was running away from my aunt, I had a goal — I was trying to get away. But when we were training, it was like, ‘Why are we running in circles?’ ” she says.

But she started winning some races, and her parents began seeing a future. Running brought a certain freedom. She could channel her feeling and assert herself in a way that wasn’t always easy when standing still.

“Watching her grow as a runner was fun,” says Michelle Phife, her former cross-country coach in Fayetteville. “I

She’s only a junior, which means her running career has at least another year beyond n ex t we e k ’s P a t r i o t League championships.

Agana calls running her “tool.”

could challenge her with pretty much anything, and she could rise to it.

She’s not scared of anything.”

Finding her purpose Agana has not spoken to her aunt in eight years but still hears her voice. It tells her she’s not good enough, that she’s not worthy of her home, her family, her school. On the Navy track this year, for example, she ran a personal-best 55.06 seconds in a 400-meter indoor race. But rather than celebrate, she lamented missing a program record by 0.05.

“I was so disappointed,” she says.

“You have to remember, I spent nearly four years with somebody whispering in my ear that I was nothing. So my teammates were hugging me, and I had to keep reminding myself that I am something, I can be great.”

Agana continues to receive counseling at Navy and still finds solace running around the track. She competes in sprints and middle distances. This month at an ArmyNavy meet in New York, Agana anchored the school’s 4x100 relay team that set a program record with a time of 46.12 seconds and was part of a 4x400 team that posted the fifthfastest school mark. Then she won the meet’s 800-meter race, posting a time of 2:13.19.

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“It’s not the end game.

It’s what I need to use to get there. Yes, I can inspire people on the track, but I inspire more people by wearing this uniform,” she says.

“Coming here, serving, it’s helped me find a purpose. Slowly I started getting back my soul. Serving others helps me find me.”

She hopes to return to Ghana someday, to build a school for young girls, to give them a bus they can ride each day and to help them have a better childhood than she did. She wants them to have hope. There are no tears when she shares her personal story. She draws strength from it. “ I ’ m n o t s u re t h a t A m a n d a i s completely healed. She’ll never forget her past experiences,” her stepmother says. “That makes her who she is today.”

Agana doesn’t need reminders, of course, about how far she has come.

Her history is on display at every race.

Her legs have endured, and they have provided.

“For the longest time, I was superself-conscious about my scars,” she says, “but they’re just proof and a testament that I survived. They tell me about the place where I was, the place others like me are and the places that I can still go.”

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Gone

VIRAL

2018

A CNN interview sparked another Ghana backlash and a debate about women, sex and love Pamela Ofori-Boateng, April 17, 2018 Quartz Africa

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here is nothing unusual about a young woman having sugar daddies in Ghana. It happens in Nigeria, it happens in South Africa (where they’re called blessers) and if the stories doing the rounds in the Washington DC these days are to be believed, it’s not that unusual in the United States either.

However, the video clip of an interview by Christiane Amanpour (CNN), and a young Ghanaian woman stirred so much public outrage and shock in Ghana, you might have thought we lived in an ultra puritanical society. But the reason Ghanaians were so outraged was not the fact the young lady in question said she sleeps with married men to survive but it was that she generalized her views and claimed she had no choice because of the tough Ghanaian economy.

Amanpour, who is probably best known for her hard-hitting reporting from conflict zones around the world, is fronting a new CNN show called Sex & Love Around the World. It seems an attempt to dive into the evolving sexual habits and lifestyle preferences of people around the globe in a fast-changing world. The show probably also serves to soften Amanpour’s tough image.

That was the context for the promotional interview clip which was likely edited to stir maximum controversy ahead of the full show’s

airing and to get people watching. It seems to have worked, especially with Ghanaians.

In this interview, which has become a viral hit in Ghana and beyond, a young woman, named Moesha Boduong states women need men to take care of them to be able to survive. She boldly and bluntly shares her personal story about sleeping with married men who in turn finance her lifestyle because there are few opportunities for women in Ghana.

At one point in the interview, Amanpour has her head in her hands in despair on the table.

But Moesha’s claims don’t add up.

The bad state of the economy she cites to justify her lifestyle isn’t true.

In fact, Ghana is forecast to be the fastest growing economy in the world in 2018 and there are probably as many opportunities for women as there are for men—if not more. There are also plenty of initiatives for female entrepreneurs while those who want to take a plunge into entrepreneurship get plenty of support if you search. This is perhaps why a recent MasterCard Foundation index revealed Ghana is a global leader with the highest number of women entrepreneurs.

CNN, again CNN doesn’t come out of this smelling of roses either, especially as it had only recently stoked the ire of Ghanaians with a misleading 2016

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article exaggerating extreme poverty in Ghana which sparked the #CNNGetItRight hashtag. Even if the show was about sex and love, interviewing Moesha, who one could charitably describe as a “glamour model”, wouldn’t reflect the average Ghanaian woman’s lifestyle. It’d be like interviewing Stormy Daniels to get a sense of the average American woman’s views on sex and love.

I think Moesha, and other Ghanaian women like her, simply want a lifestyle they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford and have to explore all avenues including exchanging favors for money to sustain it.

And probably after days of backlash and outrage, even Moesha gets this now as she’s apologized on social media.

In this case gender inequality falls flat as some 10, 20 years ago women didn’t have the opportunities we do now. Today, society has leveled up to the extent that women are gradually catching up with men and might very well soon overtake them.

I just can’t understand why women in the “sugar daddy” bracket fail to see the opportunities.

Sign up for the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief — the most important and interesting news from across the continent, in your inbox.

Beautiful Places

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ENTERTAINMENT GH

Samini to combat domestic violence through Obimbra Foundation

Former DJ and music producer, Mark Okraku Mantey, who is currently the Programmes Director of Hitz FM, received the ‘Lifetime Achievement of the Year’ award.

Kumawood actress Emelia Brobbey took to Instagram to shower her followers with some words of encouragement and let them know that the road hasn’t been easy even for her but the right attitude will take you places.

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Meet DredW, the producer ‘ grinding’ to success

Shatta Wale asks President Nana Addo to hashtag his ‘Gringo’ song

Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan is readying to further expand his business interests in Ghana after announcing his latest venture: BJ’s Sports Bar. Gyan in a post on Instagram shared the logo of the BJ’s (Baby Jets’s) Sports Bar and stated that the pub will be opening very soon.

Patapaa wins award at DJ’s Awards night

Sarkodie honoured by Ghana Job Bank Initiative

The Ghanaian music industry is about experience a new wave of an exceptional music talent, who is already making strides in spite of his age.

Herman Suede is one of the youngest musicians in Ghana who has honed his music abilities to meet the demands of the competitive music market.

MY TOP 10 GHANA MUSIC VIDEOS Yaw Boakye KUAMI EUGENE - ANGELA

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SHATTA WALE - BULLETPROOF

MZVEE AND YEMI ALADE COME AND SEE ME AND MY KIDS

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SHATTA WALE - CONFUSION

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ADINA FT KUAMI EUGENE KILLING ME SOFTLY

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EBONY MAAME HWE

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GUILTYBEATZ X MR EAZI X PATAPAA X PAPPY KOJO AKWAABA

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MR. EAZI POUR ME WATER

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SHATTA WALE GRINGO

1 A Ghanaian musician based in the United States of America, Koby Maxwell, has won an award at the recently held Indie Music Channel Awards.

He won the Best Special Video award of the 2018 Indie Music Channel Awards (IMCA) which was held in California, from April 21-22, 2018.

2

Multiple award-wiining Ghanaian songstress, Becca has officially opened her new business venture, Kora Spa in Accra.

5 The Spa is located opposite the A&C shopping square in East Legon, and caters for all the spa needs of customers in a classy chic and serene atmosphere.

CAPTAIN PLANET OBI AGYE OBI GIRL

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Our Culture Osei Tutu II is the 16th Asantehene, traditional ruler of the Kingdom of Ashanti in Ghana since 26 April 1999. By name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the founder of the Empire of Ashanti, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. He wears pure gold ornaments. The wearing of gold jewels and gold decorated regalia was restricted to the king and major chiefs, and certain of their senior oďŹƒcials and servants.

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Akosombo Environs, Eastern Region

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EVENTS OUR CULTURE

THE ADA ASAFOTUFIAMI FESTIVAL One of Africa's oldest parties

A

ll Traditional areas in Ghana are identified with special festivals, which make the people very distinct from other ethnic groups. The Asafotufiami Festival of the people of Ada Traditional area in the Dangme East District is a rich cultural heritage celebrated annually in the first week of August.

The festival is a remembrance of the achievements in the wars for settlement fought by our ancestors, hence the name “ASAFOTUFIAMI”.

“ASAFOTU”, as the name implies, is company firing of musketry.

In the olden days the Ada State comprised, as well as the present day Dangbe East District, the following States with Divisional Chiefs supporting the Ada Mantse as Paramount Chief: Agave, Sokpoe, Tefle, Mape, Mafi, Bakpa and Battor.

With the cessation of these

Divisional Chiefs to form what is now known as the Tongu State, the new Wetsoyi (Divisional Chief) was created in addition to the Wornorhi and Asafoatseme. Since 1954 the following 10 Tribes have had Wetsoyihi (Divisional Chiefs) to support the paramount Stool of Ada. Adibiawe Lomobiawe Tekperbiawe Dangmebiawe Ohuewem Korgbor Kudzragbe Kabiawetsu Kabiaweyumu Kabiawe Kponor For unknown reasons, the celebration of the festival was discontinued for many years. To encourage sons and daughters domiciled in other parts of Ghana to return and help the elders in the development of the Ada State, particularly the towns and the villages, the Ada Pastors and

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ytainment June 20, 2016

Teachers Association (APTA) jointly with the Ada National Improvement Association (ANIA), made a representation to chiefs and elders of the State to have the festival of “Asafo” revived.

The move was overwhelmingly supported. As a consequence, the revival of the ancient “ASAFOTU” festival began in 1937.

There are two Asafo (Companies) within the Ada State viz; Akomfode and Asorkor, membership of which, according to tradition, is by maternal lineage. For this reason, children of the same father but of a different mother at times find themselves in opposing company (asafo). This gave rise to the appellation of the people of Ada as “Nyeko Bi, Tseko Bi”.

According to tradition, the celebration starts from Thursday in the first week in the month of August with the returning of Adas to their traditional homes. They go

through a house cleaning ceremony – a kind of spiritual cleansing – and pouring of libation at the family shrines keeping vigil thereafter.

At dawn on Friday, as part of the schedule for the celebration, the two companies (Asafohi) beat talking drums to summon their members.

Having assembled, each group would march to LUHUESE at the outskirts of Big Ada. There they set up camps. According to ancient custom, all young men who attain the age of puberty were then initiated into their Asafo companies by being taught how to handle, load a gun and fire same for the first time.

The initiation is followed by war games of ancient warfare – tactical deployments and logistics. This continues until late afternoon when the two Asafo companies parade to Big Ada, dressed in traditional military attire – clad with leaves and palm branches – signifying conquering heroes returning from battle, amid firing of musketry and war cries.

Women and children, carrying vessels containing watery roasted corn flour mixture, meet with the party of “Warriors” at LENOBINYA with hailing chants.

Singing, firing of musketry and dancing continue here until sunset.

The revellers then move to KPONKPO PANYA in a procession.

Here, the Asafo companies form a single file along the banks of the river and fire three volleys of muskets into the river. A ceremonial ablution of feet dipping and had washing is performed to banish all evil and usher in good fortune in the coming years.

All the followers of the Asafo companies follow the custom of feet dipping and hand-washing ceremony. The procession then disperses and everyone retires home with songs of jubilation continuing until late in the night.

The newly initiated young men with their friends proceed to the homes of their in-laws to pay homage by firing three volleys of musket. Each volley is greeted with loud cheers.

The initiated receive gifts from members of the household. The day is rounded off in eating sumptuous meals and heavy drinking.

The following Saturday is noted for durbar of the Paramount Chief, Asafotseme and Divisional chiefs, carried in their palanquins through the town to the grounds of the Big Ada Presbyterian Junior Secondary School Park where the elders, men, women and children, gaily dressed, assembled to receive them.

Ada Youth Groups and other benevolent societies established in other parts of Ghana wearing uniforms, parade through the streets of Big Ada, singing patriotic songs to grace the occasion all the way to the durbar grounds where they march past and take their positions.

After the Paramount Chief has greeted the Divisional Chiefs, Asafoatseme and elders and the people, he sits in state to receive in return, greetings and homage of his people. Each Asafoatse then swears an oath allegiance to the Paramount Chief that in each case is sealed with volleys of musketry by the divisions.

chiefs, Asafoatseme, elders and the people, return home accompanied by the youth associations and benevolent societies with songs, drumming and jubilation. Cinema shows, and grand ball dances are attended in the evening. On Sunday non-denominational open air church service is held at the venue of the durbar to give praise and thanks to the almighty God for his abundant blessings and success of the festival.

During the following week, Monday to Thursday are occupied with Boat Racing, River Excursion and Football Matches. By Friday, good-byes are being said as non- residents embark on return journeys with happy memories of the festival.

Attend Ada Asafotu Festival every year in your numbers and enjoy the company and hospitability of Okorli Abime.

Ada Foah or Ada is a coastal town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Just off the Accra-Aflao motorway, this town is located along the Volta River. It's also the capital of the Ada East District and the seat of the District Assembly.

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One of our kind ƆDADEƐ PRESBYTERIAN BOYS SECONDAY SCHOOL OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION

Dr. Solomon Dadebo (1980) Propels Presec Unto World Stage

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he writing was on the wall from his Clerk House days commencing September 1975 to June 1982. Solomon Dadebo was a gentle, humble, studious and academically gifted young boy who later became Clerk House Prefect in 1981-82.

Proceeding to then UST with excellent grades, he was among the few who were admitted to read Chemical Engineering in his time. It was just a matter of time that one day this reticent Odadee will lift high the flag of Presec & Ghana in the field of Engineering on the international scene.

By dint of hard work and focus, Odadee Solomon Dadebo has studiously confounded the academic and industrial community in the United States and Canada with several inventions to enhance industrial profitability.

He has authored seven (7) Patents and won Chemical Processing Magazine’s Plant Innovation Award in 2006. He is one of the most sought after authority in the field of Plant Performance Monitoring, Model Predictive Control and Realtime Optimization applications. His latest invention Patent number 9950927 granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in April 2018 was: [Method of supplying hydrogen

Dadebo has published extensively and has many awards to his credit.

A scholar from Kibi, Eastern Region, Odadee Solomon Dadebo found time to teach and was an Adjunct Associate Professor Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering at State University of New York at Buffalo for many years.

through an integrated supply system]. The invention relates generally to a method for supplying high purity hydrogen through a hydrogen supply system comprising one or more storage caverns, multiple hydrogen production sources, and a pipeline distribution system capable of delivering hydrogen to a plurality of hydrogen demand points which coordinates the operation of the cavern, hydrogen plants, and pipeline distribution system to meet the real time dynamic demand profile.

Odadee Solomon Dadebo is currently Executive Director, Productivity & Value Chain Management, Global HyCO at Praxair, Inc [Third largest Industrial Gas company in the world] and is responsible for managing variable costs for the organization. Odadee

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It is very heartwarming this latest patent was awarded in our 80th anniversary year. The sense of academic pride and mileage that Presec has gained from the exploits of Dr. Solomon Dadebo goes to cement our position as the best Science Secondary School in West Africa. Today with Solomon Dadebo and others, we can say with much pride that we are fulfilling the Presec anthem that calls us to “take our places in the future of our country and church”.

From Mile 9 on Accra – Aburi Road, we have arrived on the world stage and our products will continue to contribute and make an impact.

Odadee Dr Solomon Dadebo, Presec is proud of your achievements and we say Ayekoo.

Odadee Communications Directorate

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